Bleeding
Heart Tetra(Hyphessobrycon
erythrostigma)

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The Hyphessobrycon
erythrostigma is more
commonly known as the bleeding
heart tetra because of the red mark in the center of their body. They are members of the
family Characidae more commonluy refer to as Characids. Their
natural habitat is the Amazon River. They are members of the Characidae
family.

Bleeding
hearts are a smaller variety of fish. They only reach a
length of two or three inches when fully grown. This makes them
perfectly suited for smaller desktop or wall mounted aquariums.

Tetras are egg
laying fish. But the bleeding heart rarely breeds in
captivity. Unlike the black skirt tetra, it is easy to tell males from
females in the bleeding hearts. The females tend to have smaller dorsal
fins than the males. The males’ dorsal fin can become long
and
flowing
in adulthood. The males grow to an adult size slightly larger than
females. Both sexes have that eye-catching bright red spot in the
region of their heart area. Their color palette becomes more pronounced
if they are fed a diet of live or frozen fish brine. Several subspecies
are available commercially including a long finned variety and golden
tinted tetras. Bleeding hearts have a life expectancy of around five
years.

The pH levels
in the Amazon River run slightly acidic. As natives
to the Amazon River, bleeding heart tetras prefer soft water with a pH
level around 6.8. This can be easily achieved by purchasing Tetra's
Black Water extract or a similar water conditioner from your local fish
specialty store. You can also filter your water through peat or add a
small layer of peat to your substrate. Make sure that the peat does not
have any chemical additives. It is not strictly necessary, however
doing so will help insure that your bleeding hearts will live a healthy
life and reach their full life span. In general, Bleeding heart tetras
are a quite hardy species and will survive in a multitude of water
conditions.

Bleeding
heart tetras
are
not an aggressive species, though the
males do tend to be a bit territorial. They function well in community
environments as long as they are grouped with similarly docile species.

Bleeding hearts, like all tetras are shoaling fish. They travel in
packs. You can add a single tetra to
your aquarium. But adding four to
six allows them to frolic as they would in their natural habitat. There
is nothing quite so satisfying as watching a group of fish swimming in
a school as they would in their natural environment.

Bleeding hearts originate from waters teaming with predators. Their
slight stature delegates them relatively low in the food chain. Thus
they instinctively hide among plants and debris as a survival
mechanism. They thrive in well planted fish tanks. They tend to swim
midlevel in your aquarium. They also tend to prefer subdued lighting.

Bleeding hearts are omnivorous. In nature they survive on a
combination of plant and animal matter. They will readily eat just
about any freshwater tropical fish food you choose to give them. Tetras
are notorious fin nippers. They should not be kept with long finned
fish species such as angelfish or bettas.